Russia outraged by expulsion of political scientist Smirnov from Latvia, will respond to incident - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Nov 24 (Interfax) - Russia has no intention of leaving the expulsion of Konstantin Simonov, director of the National Energy Security Fund, from Latvia without a response.
"The expulsion from Latvia of the prominent Russian political scientist, who had arrived in the Latvian capital on the invitation of the international Format A3 media club, once again confirms that official Riga, which positions itself as 'democratic, where everyone is free to express his views', is two-faced," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said on Monday.
"Such an incident cannot help but cause outrage and will undoubtedly not be left without a reaction from us," he said.
The Russian political scientist was expelled from Latvia on November 14 on the orders of Latvian Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis. According to the local media, Simonov was detained by immigration service officials from the State Border Guard Service in a restaurant in the Latvian capital. The immigration services said he was blacklisted after crossing the border.
